Download the free app

There Are Two Types Of Tickling

January 29, 2016

Written byCuriosity Staff

Share

You know the difference -- there's the type of tickling that causes a rush up your spine, and the aggressive laughing-till-it-hurts kind. Turns out, they actually have different names: knismesis and gargalesis, respectively. The two types of tickling were named by psychologists G. Stanley Hall and Arthur Allin in 1897. Knismesis is reminiscent of a feather trailing across your skin, or perhaps a bug walking on you. It's also the type of tickling that you can perform on yourself. Gargalesis, on the other hand, is more aggressive and can cause breathless laughter or even pain. It tends to target specific areas of the body where we are sensitive to tickling: underarms, waists, ribs, feet, and necks.